Tucumcari & Memphis Railroad

The Tucumcari & Memphis Railroad, a Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad subsidiary, is an abandoned rail line between Tucumcari, New Mexico, and Amarillo, Texas.

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The Tucumcari & Memphis Railroad, a Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad subsidiary, is an abandoned rail line between Tucumcari, New Mexico, and Amarillo, Texas.

History

The Choctaw, Oklahoma & Gulf Railroad (CO&G) operated in Arkansas and Oklahoma. Originally incorporated as the Choctaw Coal & Railway Company, it completed its main line between West Memphis, Arkansas, and western Oklahoma by 1900.

In 1901, the CO&G organized a subsidiary, the Choctaw, Oklahoma & Texas Railroad (CO&T), to extend the CO&G line westward into the Texas Panhandle. ¹ By 1902, the CO&T had built ninety-eight miles of track to Yarnall and, through trackage rights over other carriers, reached Amarillo. The CO&T completed its own line into Amarillo by late 1903.

The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad (CRI&P, or Rock Island) assumed control of the CO&G in 1902. ¹ On December 1, 1903, the CO&T was merged into the Chicago, Rock Island & Gulf Railway (CRI&G), a Rock Island subsidiary.

The CRI&G extended the line west from Amarillo to the Texas–New Mexico state line at Glenrio in 1910, where it connected with the Tucumcari & Memphis Railroad (T&M), which was part of the Rock Island, to Tucumcari, New Mexico. ^{1 2 3} At Tucumcari, the line connected with what later became the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), establishing a through route from Memphis to the Pacific Coast.

The CRI&G and T&M were formally merged into the Rock Island on January 1, 1948. The Memphis to Amarillo line remained an important Rock Island main line, carrying both local and transcontinental freight and passenger traffic.

Decline

By the late 1950s, the Rock Island Railroad faced declining traffic, flattening revenues, and rising costs. Although still in fair physical condition, the company struggled to justify its place in a crowded Midwest rail market, often described as “one railroad too many.” The consolidation of grain shipping and reduced need for redundant track networks further weakened its position.

In 1964, Rock Island agreed to pursue a merger with Union Pacific (UP), which promised to create a Chicago–West Coast “super railroad.” ^{3 4} The case became the most complex merger proceeding in Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) history, dragging on for a decade. While approval was eventually granted with conditions, by 1974, UP abandoned the deal, concluding that Rock Island’s deteriorated infrastructure and labor obligations made the acquisition too costly.

Left adrift, Rock Island declared bankruptcy in 1975 and attempted a turnaround under new leadership. Rebranding itself as “The Rock,” it launched track improvements and introduced new equipment, but financing fell short. By 1979, labor disputes brought the railroad to a standstill. Despite partial recovery, the ICC declared a transportation emergency, and in early 1980, Rock Island was ordered into liquidation. ⁵

Its assets were sold off to other carriers. Southern Pacific’s subsidiary, the St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company (SSW, Cotton Belt), acquired the line between Tucumcari and St. Louis. However, the Tucumcari–Amarillo segment was not revived; it was dismantled in 1984.

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Sources

1. Anderson, Hugh Allen. “History of the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Texas Railroad Company.” Texas State Historical Association, 1 May 1995.
2. Werner, George C. “History of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad.” Texas State Historical Association, 2 Mar. 2016.
3. Nelson, Paul C. “Rise and Decline of the Rock Island Passenger Train in the 20th Century.” The Annals of Iowa, vol. 41, no. 2, 1 Jan. 1971, p. 744.
4. “A Mighty Good Road: The Decline and Fall of the Rock Island Railroad.” Arkansas Business, 30 July 2012. Arkansas Business Publishing Group.
5. United Press International. “Rock Island Railroad Files for Bankruptcy.” Playground Daily News, vol. 30, no. 34, 18 Mar. 1975, p. 2.